For the past year or more, Will and I have been tinkering with the idea of looking for another home. Our current home has been wonderful and we have had an amazing almost 9 years here, but it's starting to get a smidge tight and there are a couple of things that we would love to change about it (like the fact that it's three floors and it lacks a playroom, among other things). With the housing market on the rise again and the interest rates like they are, we feel like now is a great time to make the change.
We have been around the area with Will's sister, Erin, and looked at homes and neighborhoods. We absolutely love the area where we are now, but there are just not a whole lot of what we are looking for here. Many of the houses we have looked at are ok, but there are certain things that aren't exactly like we would like them to be. We have decided that if we are going to move, the next house will be our "forever home" that we will be in for many years, so we want it to be right and we don't want to settle on "good enough".
We started looking at homes closer to town and in different areas. Two things soon became evident: 1) that in order to get the house that we wanted, we were probably going to have to build it, and 2) that we really couldn't imagine ourselves in a different area. So, the search for lots in our area commenced. This was initially an unfruitful search because there are so many established neighborhoods here and the lots remaining in them are less than desirable. Then, Erin asked us to go look at a home in a neighborhood tucked a little further back than we had been looking, but still in our area and in a great school district. We didn't love that house, but instead of heading back the way we came, we turned left and stumbled upon our potential new neighborhood. It was started back in 2008, an old farm turned into a potential neighborhood. Unfortunately, the market crashed after only four homes had been built and it has been sitting as such ever since, with 45+ lots available.
One of the frustrating things we had been finding in other places was that many of the lots were pricey and many of them were equal to or less than the 1/3 of an acre we are on now. The most attractive part about this new neighborhood is that the lots are reasonably priced and the smallest lot in there is 3/4 of an acre!
Prior to finding this new neighborhood, everything else looked muddy, like there were too many ifs or maybes to make it feel right. I remember praying to God for Him to please make the right decision easy and clear for us. After stumbling upon this new neighborhood, everything became crystal clear!
So, for the past several weeks, we have been in a whirlwind of meeting with builders, making phone calls and filling out loan paperwork, running numbers over and over to make sure we're going the right and best route financially, getting our current home ready to put on the market, and meeting with architects. It's going to be an insanely crazy ride, but I just keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it when we are in our new home.
The other day, I rode out to the neighborhood to take some pictures of the lot that we have chosen that is now reserved for us. It is absolutely gorgeous at the end of winter, so I can't imagine what it will look like once the glory of spring takes hold of it. Our lot is almost a full acre and has a small creek running across the back of it. I can't wait to see the progression as our home is built on it, but for now, I stand in awe of the beauty of this amazing blessing and God's goodness in our lives.
